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. (No Model.) 2 sheetssheen 1.

W. P. GIBSGN.

PNEUMATI ELEVATOR. No. 412,326. Patented Oct. 8, 1889.

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(No Model.)

W. P. GIBSON.

PNBUMATIG ELEVATOR. No. 412,326. Patented Oct. 8, 1889.

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PATENT EEICE.

TWILLIAM P. GIBSON, OF NEW YORK, N. 'YN

PN EU MATIC ELEVATOR.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No, 412,326, dated October 8, 1889.

Application le December 3l., 1888. Serial No. 294,994. (No model.)

To all whom it 72mg concern:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM P. GIBSON, a citizen of the United States, residing at New York, county of New York, and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Pneumatic Elevators, fully described and represented in the following specification and the accompanying drawings, forming a part of the same.

This invention relates to an elevator which is operated by pneumatic pressure as distinguished from those elevators the operation of which is effected by hydraulic or steam pressure.

This elevator is more particularly adapted for and is intended principally for use in those localities or buildings in which the head or pressure ot the water-supply is so light as to preclude the use ot' elevators in which the motor-fluid is water without the addition of a pump tor orcin g the water from the streetmain or other source of supply to a tank or reservoir locatedI above the cylinder of the elevator, from which tank or reservoir the wateris conducted to the place of use, and in those localities where a supply of air under pressure is more readily attainable than a steam-power or a supply of water under suflicient head or pressure. A great objection has, however, existed to the use of pneumatic elevators, and one which has prevented their coming into general use, in that the movements ot the elevator-car in ascending and descending are spasmodic and jerky. This is due to the fact that the pressure of the compressed air when exerted directly upon the piston, owing to the elasticity of the air and the resistance of the piston and its connected parts, and theA load which it is required to raise, and the leakage of the air beyond the piston, is exerted with varying intensity according as the resistance of the piston increases or decreases.

To this end the invention consists in interposing between the compressed air and the piston a body of water 'or other non-elastic fluid, against which the pressure of the compressed air will be exerted, and by it communicated to the piston instead of being exerted directly against the piston, and by providing the cylinder upon the opposite side of the piston with a second body of water, which flows into and out of the cylinder as the piston moves, and thus water-locks the piston on both sides of the same, as in the wellknown hydraulic elevator, in which the Water circulates from one end to the other of the cylinder. By reason of this construction also liability of leakage of compressed air beyond the piston is avoided. Suitable means will also be provided for the ingress and egress of the water to and from the cylinder and for the supply and exhaust of the compressed air at the proper times.

The invention further consists of a peculiar arrangement and combination of valves and valve-operating mechanism for controlling the ingress and egress of the water and the suppl'yof compressed air and the exhaust of the same, and their attachment to the hand-rope of the elevator by which the several valves are moved at the proper times in the proper directions relatively to each other simultaneously from the car by a single pull upon said hand-rope, all of which will hereinafter fully appear.

Although, as illustrated in the drawings forming y a part of this application, and as hereinafter described, the invention is shown and described as applied to an elevator mechanism inwhich the cylinder is of the vertical form, yet it is to be understood that theinvention is applicable as well to eleva-l tor mechanisms in which the cylinder is of the horizontal type, and also to mechanisms in which the piston oscillates, as shown and describedV in a companion application for Letters Patent liled llanuary 5, 1889, Serial No. 295,543.

ln the accompanying drawings, Figure l is a sectional elevation of an elevator mechanism embodying my invention. Fig. 2 is a plan view ot the valve mechanism for controlling the supply and exhaust ot the compressed air and the valve mechanism for con- IOO trolling the ingress and egress of the water to andffronrthe lower end ofthe cylinder; and Fig. '3 is a longitudinal section of the compressed-air valve, the same being taken on the line 3 3 of Fig. 2. Fig. 4 is aview similar to Fig. l, illustrating a slightly-diiferent organization, which will be hereinafter referred to.

Referring now particularly to Fig. l, it will be understood that A represents the elevatorcar, B its hoisting-cable, and C the elevatorcylinder in which works a piston D. The

througlia pipe G with f an open tank H', also` containing a body of water or other fluid capable vof slightly more than filling the cylind'erCbelow the piston D.. The tank E has'I also 'connected at its upper portion, aboveA the level of the liquid contained thereinfa pipe I, connected with the source from which;

the supply of compressed air is fed tosaid tank. The source of supply may be an aircompressorprovided for the purpose; or the,

supply may be had 'from a 'street-main for the distribution of compressed -air through different parts of large cities-andvtowns.

The. pipe I hasalso connected 'to it awaste-l pipeJ for the discharge of lthe compressed' air after use.

The pipe Fr is'providedwith a valvea, hav-` inggtwo-ducts or passages b and c cut therein at rightangles to each other, as shown, so

that each one-quarter turn of said valve from' theposition in which it is shown in-Fig. l reestablishes communication between `the tank- E and the upper end of the cylinder C, the intermediate position of said valve cutting o; such communication; The pipe G is also pro-g vided with a valve d, constructed and operated in a manner similar to that just described, Aand having two ducts or passages e fcut therein at right angles to each other,- which valve controls communication betweenl the lower end of the cylinder C and tank H.

The tanks E and II will, previous togthe operation of the elevator, be each provided with the requisite `amount of water or other liquid W, which may be supplied to the tankl E through the'port p, which will be closed tightly by means of a plug, as shown, to pre-: vent the escape of compressed air.

The pipe I is provided at its lower end, where itruns parallel to the pipe G (see Fig. 2) and at the point of its junction with the air-exhaust pipe J, with'a valve g5 having a duct orpassage-c' communicating vwith the vducthand cut at right angles thereto,as

The,

shown in Fig. 3, by which communication. is controlled between the'pipe I and th'e'source of supply of compressed air, and by which, also, communication is established at the proper time in the operation of the elevator mechanism between the pipe I and the airexliaust pipe J, to permit the exhaust ofthe compressed air from the pipe I and tank E after use or during the upward movement of the piston D. l i

The valves d and g are each connected to a shaft j, carrying a small'pulley 7c, (see Fig. 2,) about which passes the hand-rope K'of the elevator, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2. The pulley la has secured to it (see Figs. l and 2) a lever l, to the free end of which.. is pivotally connected the lower end offa rod m, the upper end of which is alsoI pivotally connected t'ofa lever n, secured to the stem'of-the -"alvea.

The pipe I maybe provided with a valve o, by which `the pressure Vatfwhich -thecompressed air is to -be supplied to the 4tankfE lmay be regulated, or by which suehsupply may be cut off when desired. By reasonK of the connecting together of the valves d, g,'and a in the manner described buta single "operation of the hand-ropeKwill be necessary to move said valve simultaneously, `each in the proper direction relatively to the others'.

The operation'of the mechanism which has been described is as follows: When the various parts' 'are in the position shown inFig.

l, communicationwill be established between thetank E and the lupper end of the cylin- 'der-C,I between ysaid tank and thesource of supply' of compressed air,l and.- between the ftankll'and the lower end of the cylinderG.

It will be noticed that when the valve VgV has escape of compressed f air. The compressed air passing through the pipe I enters the tank `E and forces the water contained in said tank -into the cylinder C against the power sideof the-piston D, which it will'force downward,

tthereby raising the -elevator-car,'the downward movement of the piston forcing --the water in the cylinder beneath itinto the tank II.

cut off 'communication between said Ycylinder 'and tank E,' vand the valve g will cut off communication also between the pipe I and the source of compressed-air supply, communi- When it is desired to arrest the car atl lits upper limit of `movement or Iat any intermediate landing, the conductor will'draw upf ward upon the hand-rope K and move the pul'ley 7c from r-ight to left unt-il a one-eighth turn has been imparted to the valves d andg, this movement of the pulleyk raising thele- 'ver l and rod m, and through the latter the` Vlever n, and imparting a'corresponding move- Ement to thevalve a. Vhen 'the .parts-have been thus moved, the' valve dwill be in posiftionl to cut off communication betweenv the tank H and the cylinder: C, the valve afwil-l IOO IIO

cation also between the pipe I andthe exhaust-pipe J still remaining cut off. The escape of water from below the piston being thus prevented, further movement of the piston -downward will be arrested and the car be brought to rest. Then it is desired to move the car downward, the conductor will again draw upward upon the hand-rope K, thereby moving the pulley lo until the duct e ofthe valve d has been brought into register with the pipe G, when communication will be opened between lthe cylinder C and tank H. Vhen the pulleykhas been thus moved, the valve g will be operated through the shaft i i to bring its ducts 7L and t into position to valve a to close the pipe F.

open communication between the pipes I and .I and to shut oit the further admission of compressed air to the pipe I. This movement of the pulley .7u will also raise the rod m and lever n and through the latter bring the duct c of the valve ct into register with the pipe F. Communication being thus established between the pipes I and J, the compressed air confined in the pipe I' and the tank E will escape therefrom 'through the pipe .I into the open air. As the piston I) is thus relieved ot' its pressure, the car will begin to descend by its own weight and the piston to rise, the latter as it risesV forcing the water from the cylinder C` through the pipe F into the tank E; As the upward movement of the piston continues, the water which has been forced from below it into the tank H in its descent will be drawn back to the cylinder C beneath the piston. This will continue until it is desired to stop the car. To accomplish this, the conductor will draw the hand-rope K downward, thereby through the pulley k and shaft Z giving a one-eighth turn to the valves d and g in a direction contrary to that just described, this movement of the pulley k causing the rod m and lever n to descend and through them operating the The parts will then be in the positions which they occupied in the description heretofore given of the operation of stopping the car, and the ingress and egress of water to and from the cylinder C and the supply and discharge of compressed air to and froml the tank E be prevented. lVhen it is desired to again causev the car to ascend, the conductor will. again draw downward upon the handrope K until the valves a and d and g are returned to the positions in which they are shown in the drawings,

,when the duct f of the valve CZ will open communication between the tank II and the lower end of the cylinder, the ductb will open communication between the tank E and the upper end of the cylinder, and the duct h of the valve g will establish communication be tween the compressed-air pipe I and its source of supply, at the same time cutting oft communication between the former pipe and the exhaust-pipe J and preventing the further exhaust ot compressed air. rlhe operation ot the piston D will then be the same as that already given when the operation of raising the elevator-car was described.

The hand-rope K has been shown and described for convenience; but the term is to be understood as including any of the forms of apparatus for controlling the valves from the car, which apparatus is to be considered as the equivalent of the hand-rope. The speed of the car in moving up and down is controlled by the position of the valves o. d, which determine the rate at which the water shall ent-er and escape from the cylinder, and thus regulate the speed of the piston. If de` sired, the connections may be so organized that the air, instead of being exhausted from the tank ment of the piston D, circulate from the tank E to the tank I-I, (the latter tank being of co'urse closed,) and be thence exhausted during the next downward movement of the piston. In such case the valvegwillbe omitted 4and the connections will be organized,as indicated in Fig. 4' and by dotted lines in Fig. l--that is to say, the tank II will be provided with a valve 9 having ports 6 '7, by which the air can be allowed to enter the tank E and at the same time escape from the tank H through pipes 5 4c asl the piston D descends, and having a port 8, by which, when the valve is given a quarter-turn, the pipes I and 5 will be brought into communication, so as to allow the air to circulate from the tank E to the tank Il as the piston ascends. When the valve 94 is in an intermediate position, the pipes I and 5 will both be closed, so as to prevent the entrance of air to the tank E and its escape from the tank II. The valve 9 will be provided with an arm 3, similar to the arms Z/n., by which it will be operated through the rod m simultaneously with the valves ct d.

What I claim is 1. The combination, with the cylinder and piston of a pneumatic elevator, of a closed tank containing a body of liquid interposed between the pressure side of the piston and the compressed air for operating the same and filling the cylinder, a tank communicat ing with the cylinder upon the opposite side of the piston'and containing a body of liquid sufficient to till the cylinder upon that side of the piston, valves a d, for controlling the i'low will, during the upward 1n0ve` IOO IIO

of the two bodies of liquid to and from the cylinder, and a hand-rope for operating said valves from the car, substantially as described.

2. The combination, with the cylinder and piston of a pneumatic elevator, of a closed tank containing a body of liquid interposed between the pressure side of the piston and the compressed air for operating the same and illin g the cylinder, a tank communicating with the cylinder upon the opposite side of the piston and containing a body of liquid sufficient to till the c 7linder upon that side of the piston, valves c: C?, for controlling the flow of the two bodies of liquid to and from the cylinder, a valve g, torcontrolling the supply and exhaust of compressed air to and 'from v tor, of acylinder and piston, closed tanks communicating with the cylinder upon the opposite sides of the piston and containing bodies of liquid sufficient to fill the cylinder upon said respective sides of the piston, pipes and valve mechanism for admitting air under pressure to one of said tanks to drive the piston in one direction and for allowing said air to circulate from said tankto the other tank as the piston moves in the other direction and 15 for allowingthe air tol escape from said 'last tank, and connections for operating said valve mechanism fromthe car,substantially as described.

In testimony whereof jI have yhereuntofset zo my hand in the presence of =tWo subscribing 

